Anyone receive the new CalFresh EBT cards yet? Worried mine got lost in mail

got mine last week. blue design now insted of the old yellow one. had to activate it by calling the # on the sticker.

The rollout of the new CalFresh EBT cards is happening in phases based on case numbers. They're replacing them county by county, starting with the northern counties and moving south. Your old card will continue to work until you activate the new one, so don't worry about your benefits. If your worker told you early April, I'd give it until mid-April before getting concerned. If you need to check on the status, call the EBT customer service line at 1-877-328-9677 rather than your county office. They can tell you if a new card has been issued for your case yet.

I received my new CalFresh EBT card about a month ago. The transition is fairly straightforward. Your old card will remain active until you call the number on the sticker of your new card to activate it. Once activated, your old card will be deactivated automatically, and any remaining balance will transfer to the new card. If you're concerned about timing, there is a schedule posted on the BenefitsCal website that shows approximate timeframes for each county. You might want to check there to see when your county is scheduled for the rollout. Also, if you need to reach your county worker about this or any other CalFresh issues, I've had success using a service called Claimyr that gets through the phone wait times. Their site is claimyr.com and they have a video demo at https://youtu.be/eZ19FHRETv8?si=_CXnXqNXbLl26WB8 that shows how it works. It saved me hours of waiting when I had an urgent verification issue last month.

THE WHOLE SYSTEM IS A MESS!!! I got my new card 6 weeks ago but then they sent ANOTHER one last week. Called EBT customer service and they had NO IDEA why I got two cards!!! Said to just destroy the second one but now I'm worried they'll cancel my benefits or something. Why can't they get anything right????

I'm in Sacramento County and still waiting on mine too! My worker told me April as well. I'm really nervous because I have three kids to feed and can't afford any gaps in benefits. Does anyone know if they alert you before they deactivate the old card? Like do you get a text or email warning? And do you have to go pick up the new card in person or they only mail them?

got my new card last month but forgot to activate it lol. my old one still works fine so guess it doesnt matter

I got mine but I actually had a question about it that maybe someone can help with. The old card had my full name (First Middle Last) but the new one only has my first and last name. Is that normal? Will it cause problems when I use it at stores?

Thank you everyone for the helpful responses! I checked the BenefitsCal website and saw that my county's rollout is scheduled for the second week of April, so that explains the timing. I feel much better knowing my old card will still work until I activate the new one. Will keep an eye on my mail and try not to worry so much!

I'm still waiting for mine too and getting anxious about it. My benefits load on the 15th and I'm in Fresno County. Does anyone know if there's a way to request a replacement if it really did get lost in the mail? I moved apartments last month and updated my address with the county but I'm worried the timing might have messed things up. Really hoping it shows up soon because I can't afford to miss a benefits cycle.

I'm in LA County and just got mine yesterday! It came in a plain white envelope with "Important Information About Your Benefits" on the outside - almost threw it away thinking it was junk mail. The new card is definitely nicer looking than the old yellow one. One thing I noticed is that the activation process was super quick, just called the number and entered my SSN and zip code. Also wanted to mention that I called that EBT customer service line someone mentioned (1-877-328-9677) last week to ask about the timeline and they were actually pretty helpful - told me exactly when my county was scheduled to receive the new cards. Way better than trying to get through to my local office!

I'm in Orange County and got mine about 10 days ago. Same experience as others - came in a plain white envelope that I almost tossed! The new blue design looks much more professional than the old yellow cards. One tip: when you activate it, write down the confirmation number they give you - I didn't think to do that and later wished I had it for my records. Also, the new cards have chip technology now which makes transactions faster at most stores. For anyone still waiting, don't panic - your old card definitely keeps working until you activate the new one. I actually used my old card for about a week after getting the new one just to make sure everything transferred over smoothly before activating.

I'm in San Bernardino County and still waiting for mine too! My benefits load on the 12th so I was getting really worried, but after reading all these comments I feel so much better knowing my old card will keep working. It sounds like they're really moving south through the counties systematically. Has anyone from San Bernardino or Imperial counties gotten theirs yet? Also thanks to everyone who shared that EBT customer service number - I'm definitely going to try calling them instead of my local office which never picks up!

I'm in Kern County and just wanted to add my experience for anyone else still waiting! Got my new card 3 days ago and the activation was super smooth. Like others mentioned, it came in a plain white envelope that looked like junk mail. The new blue card definitely looks more official than the old yellow one. One thing I wanted to mention that I haven't seen others talk about - when I activated the new card, I got a text message confirmation which was nice. Also, I tested both cards at the store the same day (before the old one got deactivated) and the new chip reader is noticeably faster than swiping the old magnetic strip. For anyone in the Central Valley counties still waiting, it looks like they're definitely working their way south. The EBT customer service line (1-877-328-9677) was able to give me the exact week my county was scheduled which helped ease my anxiety a lot. Don't stress if yours is running a few days behind what your worker estimated - seems like the rollout has some natural delays but your benefits are totally safe with the old card until you're ready to switch!